The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus which is capable of printing on a sheet of paper various extra data which are absent on an original document such as the name of a transmitting apparatus, date and time of transmission and number of pages.
When in facsimile communication a facsimile apparatus transmits video data read from an original document to a remote facsimile apparatus, it is desired that the receiving apparatus can reproduce on a paper sheet various extra or additional data which are absent on the document but desired for future reference, together with the video data read from the document. This demand has hitherto been implemented by provision of a storage having a capacity to accommodate one line of extra data. Character patterns representing desired extra data are read from the storage when a predetermined scan position is reached by a scanner. From the character patterns, pattern data (video data) made up of a given number of picture elements are prepared by a character generator and, then, extra video signals are picked up from the pattern data in correspondence with horizontal and vertical scan positions. The extra video signals are reproduced on a paper sheet in place of video signals supplied from a scanner.
Thus, the receiving apparatus can reproduce some extra data on a paper sheet such as the date and time of communication, name of a transmitting apparatus and page number. However, neither the transmitting apparatus nor the receiving apparatus is allowed to reproduce other detailed data on the facsimile such as the time of an end of communication and occurrence of failures. This is the first problem heretofore left unsolved in connection with the prior art facsimile apparatus.
A second problem originates from the fact that the extra or identification data to replace video data from the scanner are provided with a specific size which matches with a line density in at least one of vertical and horizontal scan directions. Since the character size is varied in accordance with a line density at a receiving transceiver, a reproduced character is clear in a digital or synchronous type apparatus but unclear in an analog or asynchronous type apparatus though the line densities may be the same.
A third problem results from the prior art practice in which extra data are always reproduced in fixed positions on a paper sheet regardless of a sheet width at a receiving apparatus. This is naturally uncriticizable as long as the width of sheets at a receiving apparatus is the same as that at a transmitting apparatus. However, if the sheet width at the receiving apparatus is larger than that at the transmitting apparatus, the extra data on a copy sheet will appear huddled up on one side of the sheet. Conversely, extra data will be partly lost on a copy sheet if the sheet is narrower than the sheet at the transmitting apparatus.
Furthermore, one line of extra data is reproduced on a paper sheet replacing entire one line of video data read from a document, with no regard to the contents of the extra data. Stated another way, the video data supplied to a receiving apparatus have been lost throughout one line which is occupied by extra data. It follows that where one line of video data to be replaced by extra data is of great significance, addition of extra data to the video data must be avoided to preserve the significant one line of video data. This is a fourth problem hitherto encountered in the prior art apparatus.
This fourth problem may be settled by, for example, detecting the contents of extra data and preventing video data from being replaced by the extra data in areas of specific codes (e.g. white codes). Such an expedient, however, requires special means for detecting the specific codes and means for inhibiting the replacement of video data by extra data, resulting in a disproportionate intricacy of construction and high cost. Another possible implement consists in printing extra data in an area of a paper sheet other than that for printing video data, e.g. the top margin ahead of the video data printing area. However, where documents to be transmitted are standardized, this is impracticable because a recording space on a paper sheet at a receiving apparatus would grow larger than a data area on an original document to be transmitted.